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Private company

German Arms and Ammunition Factory

Logo: Simhopp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons3

Arms company in Imperial Germany

Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktiengesellschaft (German Weapons and Munitions public limited company), known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when Ludwig Loewe & Company united its weapons and ammunition production facilities within one company. In 1896 Loewe founded Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken with a munitions plant in Karlsruhe (Baden), formerly Deutsche Metallpatronenfabrik Lorenz, and the weapons plant in Berlin. Shares that Loewe had in other gun- and ammunition plants were transferred to DWM.2 It ceased to exist in 1929.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1889Founded1
  • Industryindustrial manufacturing, weapons industry1
  • HeadquartersKarlsruhe1
  • Legal formAktiengesellschaft1

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Siegelmarke Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabrik W0320249
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons5

Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktiengesellschaft (German Weapons and Munitions public limited company), known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when Ludwig Loewe & Company united its weapons and ammunition production facilities within one company. In 1896 Loewe founded Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken with a munitions plant in Karlsruhe (Baden), formerly Deutsche Metallpatronenfabrik Lorenz, and the weapons plant in Berlin. Shares that Loewe had in other gun- and ammunition plants were transferred to DWM. This included Waffenfabrik Mauser, Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre (FN) in Belgium and Waffen- und Munitionsfabrik A.G. in Budapest. The DWM was orchestrated by Isidor Loewe (1848–1910), as his brother Ludwig had died in 1886. Karl Maybach (who was part of the Maybach company) was employed by the Loewe company in 1901.2

Products and brands

  • ammunition
  • firearm

Listed on Wikidata.1

Acquisitions

DWM was taken over by the so-called "Quandt Group" in 1929. At this point the involvement of the Loewe company came to an end. The original Ludwig Loewe & Company merged with the 'Gesellschaft für Elektrische Unternehmungen' in 1929.

DWM underwent a number of name changes following World War I and the subsequent disarmament phase. DWM was no longer allowed to produce military equipment after World War I (although they continued on a smaller and somewhat secret scale) and the first name change was to BKIW (Berlin-Karlsruher Industriewerke or 'Berkawerke') in 1922. After the national-socialist takeover of power in Germany, the company added 'vormals Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken' (former DWM) to the company name in 1933. In 1936 DWM reverted to its old name.

From 1940 to 1945, the Quandt family factories – AFA and Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken – were staffed with more than 50,000 forced civilian laborers, prisoners of war and concentration camp workers, according to Scholtyseck's 1,183-page study. A 2007 film, "The Silence of the Quandts", took a critical look at their wartime activities. After denazification hearings in 1948, no repercussions followed.

From Wikipedia’s article on Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1929Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1889Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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